I-League: Sudeva Delhi fight back to hold Real Kashmir to 2-2 draw; Mohammedan Sporting stay on top after beating TRAU

Naihati, West Bengal: Sudeva Delhi FC produced an inspired second-half display to overcome a two-goal deficit and eke out a fighting 2-2 draw against fancied Real Kashmir FC in their I-League match in Naihati on Tuesday.

A first-half brace from Tiago Adan gave Real Kashmir a two-goal lead at the break, but a fine second half comeback saw Sudeva Delhi take away a point from the contest, thanks to goals from Sreyas VG and Seithenlang Lotjem.

At Kalyani, defending champions Gokulam Kerala avoided a major upset as the their match against Rajasthan United ended in a 1-1 draw.

Rajasthan United rode on Sardor Jakhonov’s goal from the spot to lead for most of the match, but the red card to Julian Omar Ramos in the 66th minute opened up the game.

In the 90th minute, Ronald Singh scored the equaliser as Gokulam Kerala managed to salvage a point.

In the day’s final fixture, Mohammedan Sporting Club came from behind to record a 2-1 win over TRAU to extend their lead at the top by three points over second-placed Gokulam Kerala FC.

Faisal Ali and Marcus Leric Jr Joseph scored one goal each for Mohammedan Sporting Club, while Fernando Jose Gomes Junior struck the consolation goal for TRAU.

Earlier, Real Kashmir FC got off to a fantastic start by taking the lead through Brazilian frontman Adan as early as the second minute.

With the ball in his possession on the edge of the Sudeva Delhi box, Pratesh Shirodkar shaped to shoot at first, but ended up playing a delightfully weighted clipped pass for Adan.

Adan made a clever run in space behind the Sudeva Delhi defence and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner with his first touch.

Sudeva made a steady recovery despite the early setback and saw plenty of the ball in the opposition half.

Sudeva Delhi had another scare in the 23rd minute when Adan’s cross from the left came off the woodwork, bamboozling Sachin Jha at goal.

If his previous effort left room for interpretation, in his next attempt in the 39th minute, Brazilian Adan got his second goal of the match.

After his initial through pass was blocked, the ball ricocheted back into the path of Adan, who produced an instinctive snapshot from 20 yards that beat Jha all ends up and curled beautifully inside the far post.

Sudeva Delhi coach Mehrajuddin Wadoo made a number of changes in the second half and the renewed vigour paid dividends in the 51st minute when substitute Sreyas pulled one goal back.

Sreyas was played through inside the box, but defender Lalchhawnkima was first to reach the loose ball. The ball could have been easily cleared away from the danger area, but Sreyas stuck to his task and out-muscled the defender to bear down on goal and send a low and hard finish past Niraj Kumar in the Real Kashmir goal.

As the contest boiled down to the final minutes, Sudeva Delhi’s perseverance earned them an equaliser in the 91st minute.

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